Da Noi’s Eddie Gomez traded his usual suit and tie for kitchen gear — a hair net, plastic apron and paper “overseas” cap.
Tuesday morning at one of Project Hospitality’s busiest soup kitchens in Stapleton, the restaurateur rolled up his sleeves and doled out pasta salad alongside chefs from the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield, and Julian Gaxholli, owner of the North Shore’s Beso, Blue and Bayou.
This Staten Island “celebrity chef” occasion is twofold. First, the day marks an official announcement of Dine Out Against Hunger, to be held on Thursday, April 23. The major fundraiser will see more than 125 restaurants pledge 20 percent of their food proceeds to Project Hospitality. Additionally, the food mavens stood their guard to help feed a roomful of clients awaiting a meal, a routine each Tuesday and Thursday here at 514 Bay St.
Frank Lombardi, Dine Out co-chair and chef at the Hilton Garden Inn, said, “In a time where restaurants are only making an average of 8 to 12 percent a day — all of these restaurants are giving of themselves to feed the hungry. It means you’re working for nothing that night.”
Lombardi’s co-chair Claire Regan, the Staten Island Advance’s Curation Lead and News Presentation Manager, added, “Staten Islanders are very generous…we’re always amazed and surprised by the generosity of Staten Islanders. They always step up when asked.”
“A lot of the world is starving — do we not know this?” asked the Rev. Terry Troia to a room of about 50 guests. She leads Project Hospitality which, last year, served almost 2 million meals to Staten Islanders. Nineteen neighborhoods across the borough have access to free food through the Moveable Feast Mobile Food Market. And, hundreds of Project Hospitality clients come to the choice-based, full-service food pantry at the Community Service Center in Stapleton.
“We consume the right stuff so we can build up the bodies God gave us,” said Rev. Troia to the group. “We get stuff sometimes that’s not the right stuff we should be eating.”
People eat what’s cheap, she explained. And, produce, which can be a costly component of a diet, is an important part of the life-saving nutrition programs offered by Project Hospitality-funded programs. Fresh veggies, for instance, hail from the region’s farms, including the Heritage Farm at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Gardens, Livingston.
“If people don’t know how to cook the food, that’s a problem,” said Rev. Troia. Part of addressing hunger issues, she said, is teaching Staten Islanders what to do with their food.
“You can never assume people know how to cook,” she said. And to help in this great effort to help those in need, “All Staten Island has to do is go to one of over 125 restaurants” on April 23.
“We can’t thank the restaurants enough for participating,” said Lombardi, adding that he expects to find envelopes at each eatery on the 23rd: These are for additional collections.
High school volunteers from St. Joseph Hill Academy High School, Arrochar, are active in the Dine Out Against Hunger each year including Alivia Howard. The senior, who will attend Johnson and Wales College in Rhode Island come September, talked up the Dine Out’s “paper plates” which are for sale at $1 apiece.
Reps from the offices of Senator Andrew J. Lanza, Assemblyman Matt Titone and State Senator Diane J. Savino’s office were present for the press event.
“And their bosses are going to go out and eat — because we’ve got to feed our legislators!” joked the Rev. Troia, adding, “By eating well on Thursday, April 23…It’s one big feast that never ends.”
Lead sponsors of Dine Out include Framboise Caterers, the Staten Island Advance and Borough President James Oddo’s office.
Rev. Troia. concluded with a prayer before the meal was served: “Thank you for the feast of sharing, brothers and sisters from all parts of the Island at one table.”
Read the original article on silive.com